See the 7 answer words debuted by Anne Marie Crinnion.
P | C | T | C | O | B | P | O | L | I | S | C | I | ||
O | O | H | A | D | O | E | V | E | N | P | A | R | ||
O | M | I | C | R | O | N | R | A | T | F | I | N | K | |
H | I | G | H | P | R | O | F | H | A | D | E | S | ||
C | H | I | B | I | G | G | A | M | E | |||||
S | C | H | O | L | A | R | L | Y | R | E | V | |||
H | A | V | E | T | O | E | R | E | M | A | I | |||
O | C | E | L | O | T | S | R | E | L | E | A | S | E | |
L | E | T | P | O | I | N | O | T | N | E | W | |||
D | R | O | P | D | O | W | N | M | E | N | U | |||
P | A | R | T | N | E | R | D | O | C | |||||
S | T | O | R | Y | S | T | O | R | E | C | R | E | ||
H | A | W | K | I | S | H | O | N | E | S | E | E | D | |
A | T | E | I | N | T | O | A | C | E | A | M | I | ||
D | A | R | T | G | U | N | D | E | F | N | E | T |
Three years ago, Anne Marie noticed that many of the menu options on the computer can be found at the end of longer words, making a fun theme. Eric suggested the revealer DROP DOWN MENU, which became the start of our first crossword collab (hopefully one of many!), which was accepted when OMICRON was just a Greek letter.
After filling this puzzle, we noticed that lots of the words were a little dark, so we reworked the SW corner to be a bit less harsh than the NE. We particularly like the 4x4 section of the puzzle starting with 14-Across with its diagonal symmetry.
From solving partners to constructing partners, we're thrilled to publish together, and hope that you enjoy the puzzle!
D | I | S | C | D | R | O | M | A | B | Y | S | S | ||
A | R | E | A | R | O | M | A | L | O | O | P | Y | ||
T | I | L | R | O | D | E | S | H | O | T | G | U | N | |
A | S | L | E | E | P | N | A | O | H | A | R | C | ||
B | E | T | S | Y | D | U | A | L | ||||||
A | L | Y | R | A | I | S | M | A | N | M | B | A | S | |
L | A | D | K | N | E | E | D | I | A | L | I | N | ||
I | N | A | N | E | R | R | S | N | O | O | S | E | ||
A | C | T | O | R | S | G | O | O | D | O | L | E | ||
S | E | E | D | W | H | E | Y | P | O | W | D | E | R | |
E | R | I | E | A | U | N | T | Y | ||||||
U | S | B | A | N | A | L | L | E | S | M | I | Z | ||
C | H | A | N | G | E | L | A | N | E | S | A | K | A | |
L | U | N | G | E | E | V | E | N | I | R | E | C | ||
A | N | D | O | R | R | A | S | T | A | Y | A | K |
I'm thrilled to be making my NYT debut! I recently graduated from Harvard, and today is actually my first day of my PhD program in Psychology at UConn in the Language & Cognition division. This puzzle's publication makes this my most exciting first day of school! I've enjoyed doing crossword puzzles with my mom and my boyfriend for some time now — I got into constructing by attempting to make a cute puzzle for my boyfriend, Eric (who made his NYT debut 4 weeks ago!). Though that puzzle was mostly black squares, it began a hobby that we've both really enjoyed.
I had the idea for this puzzle while on a walk when I noticed how many different words for street there are. Originally, my revealer was ALTERNATE ROUTES, which I had paired with RODE ON HORSEBACK. Eric suggested CHANGE LANES, allowing for the more fun RODE SHOTGUN, both of which the editorial team liked. I'm happy with those changes, and I particularly like the entries SELL BY DATE (spoiled food makes me very nervous), BLOODY MARY, and RAGER (an event that should definitely be put on pause during these times!). While some of the shorter fill isn't the prettiest, I hope you all enjoy the puzzle anyways! Thanks to my family for the support and excitement and to Eric for the idea to change the revealer (along with the support). Happy solving!